Improvement in car-couplings



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. MIL-LER. GAR GOUPLING.

Patented Mar.r31, 1863.

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ma@ ZM UNITED STATES PATENT *()riuen.

IMPROVEMENT IN cAa-cfouPLlNGs,

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 38,057, dated March 31, 1863.

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EZRA MILLER, of J anes ville, in the county of Rock and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Oar-Gouplin gs and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is an inverted plan view of my invention applied to the bottoms of two cars. Fig.2 is avertical longitudinal section through the spring-box, and a side elevation of Fig'. l. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is an inverted plan 4view showing my invention applied to a tender and car. Fig. 4, Sheet 2, is a perspective sectional view yof the spring-gate which controls the-coup linghooks.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in coupling together railroad-cars, the objects of which improvements are chielly to save life, not only of persons employed on and about the train, but also of passengers, who are always exposed todanger in passing and repassing from one ear lto another while the train is in motion, under the present-arranged system 5l also to save powerin moving on curves..

As a practical railroad engineer, my. experience has taught me. that in order to prevent accident to persons coupling cars inv the yard and elsewhere.. ,an. automatic coupling or self-coupling mustlie employed, which will not require a person to get between the platforms ofthe cars to effect their coupling--4 an undertaking which is always attended with more or less danger under the best-regulated system.' To obtain a car-coupling, therefore, which, while it is automatic in its operation, will answer all the purposes for which a coupling is intended, and which will be entirely practical in its application is the object of my invention.

great degree, the unnecessary shucking or lateral and vertical motions of the cars, they form a positive and safe connection as long as the carsremain on the track; and in con-V junction with these hooks it consists in the novel arrangement of a spring-gate with each' -tion,lwhile the former prevents 'concussion 'in the coming together of the hooks in starting the train, as will be hereinafter described. To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to de' scribe its construction and operation. In the accompanying drawings, AA represent portions ofthe beds or bottoms of two cars which are coupled' together with my iinproved coupling. p l

C C are two longshanked hooks, the Shanks of which may be made either round orsquare.

These hooks have double-beveled `sides a a and acute or beveled hooking'surfaces b,wl1ich are perpendicular to the plane ofthe car-beds A A', as shownin Fig. 1,when the hooks are in position'for coupling together. The upper and lowersurfaces, c c, of these hooks areilat,

and their rear. shanked endsterminate in oblong quadrangular slots DD terminated at their'extremeends by vertical pivots d d or eyes 'for the -reception of vertical pivots. The hookedv ends of A'these couplings project beyond the end of their respective car-platforms such a distance as that when Athe cars are coupled together. a space o f about an inch is left between the ends of the platforms, just sufficient to prevent them 'from rubbing one "against the other. The ends of the' hooks thus 'project underthe ends 'of their respective opposite cars, and their hooking-surfaces b b areV oblique to the line of draft, so that there will be a constant tendency of the hooks to keep together. y f

E is a stirrup, which is bolted to the bottom of the car-bed for the purpose of supporting and keeping the hook which passes through it in its place, and also allowing ita slight lateral vibration. Each hook is furnished with one or more of these -siirrups "E, the side surfaces of which form abutments for regulating and confining the lateral vibration of the hooks within determined limits, and a block or blocks of rubber or other suitable spring may be arranged within ythese stirrups for ref ceiving and counterncting the lateralvthrust ofthe hooks.

F F are gates, which are made of metal oi the obtuse or rectangular form shown inFigs. l and 4 of the drawings, and pivoted to the gudgeons eye, Vabout which they play. These gates each consist of the two wings f f and a central cavity for receiving a flat or round spiral spring, g, one end of which is aixed to the gudgeon c and the other end to the gate The spring may be attached to a jointed device, R, or it may be coiled around the pintle e of the'gate, so that its recoil will tend to rotaterthe gate, which rotation is controlled by the stoppin h. The length of these gates is about equal to the thickness of the hooks, and they are arranged perpendicularly to the bed of the car in a plane with the verticalbe'veled surfaces c a" of the hooks C U', which strike against them in coupling together, aswill be -hereinafter described. A gate, F, is-provided for each hook, and it is arranged as near the edge of the platform of the car as possible and in such a relation to the hook on the opposite car and its own hook that when the two hooks approach each other the beveled surfaces a a of each hook will strike against the transverse wings j' of their respective gates F F, which will yield and allow the-hooks to couple together and then resume their former positions and keep the hooks together.

In order ,that a person, from the platform of the car, may eliect the uncoupling of the hooks, chains i areconneoted to the wings j" of v,the gates F, which chains are also attached to vertical rods t', which project up through the platforms of their respective cars and carry' on their upper ends hand-wheels i2. By turning either 'one of these rods i in a direction which will wind up the chain i the gates F-will be4 drawn back to the positions indi-. cated in redlines, Fig. l. Then by turning either of the hand-wheels on the ,endof .the opposite car, which have chainsj connecting with the backs of the hooks C C', eitherone or` both of these hooks may be drawn 4back sov far as to be disconnected from the other hook.

Thus, on both ends of each car, I have two hand-wheels, one of the shafts of which connects with a hook while the other connects with a gate, and in this way the hooks may be set back and kept in this condition, so that 'matic uncoupling in the eventofthe'cars jumping the track. This plan is peculiarly applicable to my improved arrangement of coupling-hooks, and .au .understanding of it will illustrate the advantages of the hooks and their adaptation to the desired end. The rear end of each hook G being formed as described, the vertical pivotvpin d passes through a sliding block, d', which is applied within an oblong box, J, containing asuitable spring at ic, which spring is confined within the box J by me'ansof two plates, l Z,`aff1xed to the top .and bottom sides of the box J. A sulicient longitudinal play is allowed the block d', and as the hook C is drawn outward in adirection with its length, this block compresses the spring lc, and in thisway the spring yields and receives all the concussion occasioned by the sudden striking together of the hooks in 'starting the train. The spring-box J, to-

ing the hook so that itsan be readily turned either downward or upward I am enabled, by the attachment of a simple connection of levers and chains to the springbox J, to keep the hook Gal'ways in a proper position for coupling toa similar hook, C', on another car, and also to turn this hook either upward or downward, so that it will not effect a coupling, or to so secure the hook that it will immediately disconnect itself from its fellow in the event of a car jumping the track. All of the hooks .ITpropose to arrange in this manner, so that'all may be operated as der scribed.

The springs k, which are used in thevspringboxes, may be made of rubber or metal as may be desired, possessing sucient strength and elasticity to vreceive the concussion at the starting of the train,4 and relieve the coupling-i` hooks from sudden jar.

The Vdraw-bar K'na-ybe made 'of round -or square rod iron, and its forward end should be so fitted into the spring-box J as to allow this box to turn freely around it.

A-stirrup, n, may be used for supporting the forward end of the springbox, which stirrup 'should be of sufcientsize to allow the box J of spring-gates, one of which has a long curved vspring attached to its wing f, and applied to the outside of the gate. Theother gate has no spring a-pplied outside. but contains an helical spring, g, within it which is coiled around the fixed stud s, as above described, and as clearly shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. I do not desire, however, to confine myself to the particular manner described for applying a spring to the pivoted gates.

The shucking of cars in motion is not always a necessary consequence of a bad road, nor is there any necessity to adopt a coupling to conform to these extreme motions of a car; but it generally arises from the fact that the coupling links, hooks, and other contrivances which have been applied to couple together the cars in a train, are made in such a manner as to allow a very wide space between the platforms of each car, and to form no positive connection ot' the cars, so that the slight motion of one car actually imparts an augmented motion to each succeeding car, and in this way the concussons upon the rollin g-stock and rails are very great and destructive,`and

a very unpleasant movement is communicated to the cars. Besides, the traction ofthe wheels, caused by the shucking, upon the rails is greatly increased, particularly in rounding curves,77 whereas if the cars are brought close together, leaving only sufficient space for them to conform to the grade of the road, these objections will be to a great degree ob viated.

In Fig. 3, Sheet 2, I have shown a means of coupling a carto the tender, and in this tender-coupling 7 Iuse a spiral spring for keeping thehook up to itsy place. Thehook itself is of the form above described; but instead of having a long vibrating shank, like the otherhooks, it is connected to or forms a part of a laterally-sliding rod, which works in suitable guides applied to the frame of the tender. This sliding bar is allowed a suflicient play laterally to release the hook from a car-hook or to move it back and keep it in such a position that it will not couple. The draw-chain and gate and its draw-chain are also used with this tenderronplin g as described for the car couplings; and this hook is also arranged so that it will couple with the hooks on either end of any car having my coupling applied to it.l

With myimprovements I dispense with the coupling or bumper boxes, which have been invariably been used in couplings which operate on the principle I adopt, and by dispensing with such boxes I am enabled to use hooks as large and strong as the boxes and hooks combined of other arrangements without increasing the first cost of couplings or carrying a greater weight than is carried when other coupling-hooks with boxes are used. Then, again, I can fit my couplings to all heights of platforms by simply blocking under a high oar and attaching the coupling-hook to the blocking. Again, I greatly reduce the length of a train of given capacity by using no coupling-boxes, the ends of the platforms of cars with my arrangement being faced with steel or other material, so as to prevent rapid wear. By reducing the length of a train I bring the weight nearer to the power, which is a great advantage in passing over vertical or around horizontal curves, as this prevents the loss of much power and wear and tear of the rails and wheels. I canA also travel such curves with greater safety. The gist of my invention, therefore, lies in the practical adaptation of a simple hook disconnected from bumper-boxes to the purposes herein described, and in the adaptation of a gate for use in connection with couplings which couple and uncouple on the principle herein described.

In the application of my coupling-hooks to cars which have no platformssuch as freightcars-the gates, and also the hooks, may be operated by a simple lever, the long arm of which will extend from thebottoni of the car some distance above the roof ot' the car, so that a person can operate the coupling from thereof of the car, instead of from the platform.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, andde'sire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the double-beveled coupling-hooks, the stirrups E E, and the springs N N, all constructed and arranged so as to operate in the manner and for the purposes described.

2. The spring-gate F, constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. The combination of the laterally-located spring-gates F F with wings f f', stop-pin h, and coupling-hooks G C', substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. The doublebeveled hooks C C', disconnected from any coupling or bumper box, constructed, arranged, and operating in the manner described.

5. The combination of the hooks C C', vertical spring'gates F F, the draw-chains t' j, and windlass-rods i t', substantially as described. Y

6. Forming in the rear ends of the couplinghooks a longitudinal slot, D, adapted to receive a spring, or its equivalent, and to allow of the pivoting of the hooks at their rear ends, substantially' as and for the purposes herein described. a

7. The combination of the pivoted, slotted, shanked coupling-hooks with the forward support, E, and spring-gates F F, arranged substantially as herein described.

EZRA MILLER.

Witnesses R. W. FENWIGK, GUsrAvE Dmrnmcn. 

